The episode“Three Miles” in This American Life tells a story that describes a classroom exchange between a public school:University Heights, and a private school: Fieldston. Both are schools located in the Bronx in New York City and are only three miles apart from one another; however, the divide between the schools is much greater than just their distance apart. While University Heights is in the country’s poorest congressional district, tuition at Fieldston is nearly $43,000 a year. At Fieldston 70% of the students are white and at University Heights, 97% are black and Hispanic(CITE). As students from Fieldston “go on to be politicians and run Walt Disney and The New York Times” (Chana Joffe-walt), the Students from University Heights cannot …show more content…
Born and raised by a single mother in East Los Angeles, my perception of going to college was at times inconceivable.
However, my dedication to my education and my diverse experiences in my youth are what have allowed me to overcome systematic barriers and get accepted to UCLA. The world I come from has not only propelled me get to college, but has shaped my understanding of the inequities and injustices of America’s educational system. I realize how socioeconomic status can hinder the capabilities of people because knowledge, opportunities, support, resources, and guidance are not always available to those who come from underserved communities.
In my community, El Sereno, college is viewed as an option as opposed to it being the next step in life. Most people in my area either begin working or start a family after they graduate from high school. Not always by choice, but in some cases by circumstance. Students in my neighborhood either lack the knowledge, financial support, guidance or even legal status that would otherwise drive them to apply or even go to college. About eighty-percent of students graduated from my high school, but only about twenty-percent ended up attending a four-year university (NINCHE). One of the biggest reasons for student’s low college entrance rate has to deal with their family's socioeconomic
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She was my only support system and took on the responsibility of caring, disciplining, and raising me in ways that my mother could not. My older sister ensured that I completed my tasks at school and at home. Being only a year apart and aware that I was growing up right beside her, she made it her priority to do her best academically to demonstrate the importance of education[an aspect that we were not raised to value]. She was my inspiration to become college bound and to take advantage of the resources at my school. I learned how to be resourceful and utilize the outside programs to improve my academic performance to compensate for my high school’s inadequacy. The hardworking qualities that have been instilled in me by my older sister have helped me get into UCLA, but witnessing my mother struggle is what further motivates me to obtain a college
I am the product of divorced parents, poverty stricken environments, and a blended family, but I refuse to let that dictate the outcome of my life. At the age of ten, I had to assume the role of a fatherly figure to my three siblings, so I missed out on the typical childhood most would have had. I grew up in neighborhoods where gangs and criminal acts of violence were a pervasive occurrence, but I resiliently did not allow the peer pressures of others to force me to conform to their way of life. By the age of 15, I received my worker 's permit, and that allowed me the ability to help my mother financially in the absence of my father’s income. I worked the maximum amount of hours I could while balancing my academics and extracurricular school activities. I was a scholar athlete and triathlete in high school, and although I continuously faced much adversity, I still managed to be accepted to the University of California State, Bakersfield after I graduated from high school in 2005. Sadly, after
She explains that African American and Latina/o students and their families continue to have high educational aspirations despite persistent education inequities. The culture of power as the “norm” of Whites.
In Jennie Capo Crucet 's essay, “Taking My Parents To College,” Crucet describes her own experience as a freshman college student who was faced with many challenges that were unknown to her, as well as the cluelessness of what the beginning of her freshman year would look like. I felt like the biggest impression Crucet left on me while I was reading her essay, was the fact that I can relate to her idea of the unknown of college life. Throughout her essay, she described her personal experiences, and the factors one might face as a freshman college student which involved the unknown and/or uncertainty of what this new chapter would bring starting freshman year of college. Crucet’s essay relates to what most of us
The competition in today’s job market makes it seemingly impossible to be considered a competitive candidate without having some sort of college degree. This very fact has pushed researchers to analyze and report on the performance of students with various educational backgrounds along with the factors that affect their ability to obtain a college degree. One particular subset of students who show interesting graduation patterns are first generation students, whose parents have do not have a college degree. First generation students frequently encounter difficulty in school and must jump over many hurdles in order to graduate and receive a college degree. These hurdles include language barriers, intergenerational gaps and social class achievement
According to Leonhardt, many people who drop out usually plan to go back eventually to get their degrees, but very few actually do. According to “Access to Attainment”, approximately 65% of all job openings will require postsecondary education by the year 2020 and “many of the long-standing programs and policies designed to foster access no longer supports the needs of today’s students” (Miller, et al. 5). The availability of higher education to the public has greatly changed over time, and thus the system and the programs must adapt as well to continue providing the best access and opportunities possible to individuals. “….a college education matters much more now than it once did” (Leonhardt). Lower-class students coming from low-income high schools might not have the same opportunities for learning as their upper-class counterparts, and as a result they are less likely to be accepted to elite universities. The education system is beneficial for many but it is flawed as well, especially in preparing high schoolers for college, which has the potential to greatly impact their
As the economy evolves and the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s becoming harder to have a successful career without some kind of college degree. This creates a belief in many young students that college actually is a commodity, something they must have in order to have a good life. There’s many different factors that influence this mindset, high schools must push the importance of the student’s willingness and drive to further their education. College isn’t just a gateway to jobs, but it is an opportunity to increase knowledge and stretch and challenge the student which in return makes them a more rounded adult and provides them with skills they might lack prior to
Natasha Rodriguez’s, “Who Are You Calling Underprivileged,” is relatable to students all around and helps to shine light on a potentially damaging label that colleges place on their students. As stated in her article, “Misfortune, like beauty is in the eye of the beholder” and by making a simple change from calling students “underprivileged,” to “a student in need,” can make a world of a difference in a student’s life.
As the high school chapter is coming to a close, many students have to make a decision that will affect the rest of their lives. Hopefully, for many that decision is to enroll in a college and attain a higher education. However, as tuition costs rise, students have to take a second look at their options for a better future. A community college is that second look for many because it is the less expensive option. From 2007-2009, enrollment for community colleges has increased by 24 percent (“College costs and the CPI”). Students aren’t choosing a college for educational purposes because they are overwhelmed by financial issues. They are attending community colleges so they will be able to graduate with a lower debt. Some seniors have wanted to attend a certain university all their life and they work toward that goal through grade school; however, they are hindered by soaring tuition for that college. Students should be able to attend a private university if they mee...
Both my interviewee and I identify as working class, biracial, and first-generation women. Subsequently, seeing our families struggle through dire financial situations, motivated us to get an education. We understand how difficult it must have been for our them to venture to a new land and face language barriers that prevented them from working in a well-paying career. My interviewee and I understand that we hold systemic privilege by being citizens of the United States and fluent English speakers, a feature our families did not have. Thus, we both believe that pursuing higher education will provide us with stability and the best future for ourselves and our
Success. Society tends to correlate “success” with the obtainment of a higher education. But what leads to a higher education? What many are reluctant to admit is that the American dream has fallen. Class division has become nearly impossible to repair. From educations such as Stanford, Harvard, and UCLA to vocational, adult programs, and community, pertaining to one education solely relies on one’s social class. Social class surreptitiously defines your “success”, the hidden curriculum of what your socioeconomic education teaches you to stay with in that social class.
In January 2013 a prominent national US newspaper quoted former Secretary of State, Condolezza Rice, “It doesn’t matter where you come from, but where you are going.” However, In “The Land of Opportunity,” James Loewen discusses how significant inequality is in America. The social class that you are born into will influence your outlook on social class and will also be the social class you stay in (Loewen, 1995. 322). Your social class will determine the opportunities available for you including health, fitness, nutrition, education, SAT scores, medical resources and more (Loewen, 1995. 321-322). Loewen also proposes that the education system in America does not incorporate a proper analysis of our social class (Loewen, 1995. 323). It is necessary for students to be realistic about social inequality because it is linked with history. As students, we are socialized from an early age to believe in the American Dream through media and our loved ones. We were raised to believe our merit determines our success. In reality race and ethnicity, class, and gender play vital roles in determining where an individual ends up in life. The following articles raise inconvenient facts that go against the American Dream.
College life is a journey taken by many high school graduate in effort to explore a higher form of education, and most importantly build a new life outside the boundaries of their families to sustain a long path of toward successful career and to some, building a new family of their own. In the United State we are blessed with an education system that is never available worldwide. Laws are placed to allow every students regardless of ethnicity, gender or class a chance to pursue education in among the most prestigious universities in the world such as Ivy League school as well as many large public universities with many programs. This vast number of education institutions available of every type of students create this big diversity leading the U.S. to be the frontrunner of education in the world.
Having the college experience is everyone’s dream, especially High School students who are ready to get out into the world and explore. College is very important for furthering someone’s career, but no one thinks about all the costs and the stress that comes along with college. Tuition fees and costs are increasing more and more each year. Now days it feels like you have to be a millionaire just to attend a good college and get a good degree in what you were attending for. There are some students that do not have a lot of money and live on very little things with their parents, but indeed are very smart and have a 4.0 GPA. Those students are the ones that are unable to attend college if they cannot afford it. College tuition is too expensive,
Heading to a university is terrifying, yet earning any type of degree will lead students to success. According to the National Dropout Prevention CenterNetwork, 24% of high school drop outs end up homeless due to not attending college. It is proven that young adults are well off with a Bachelor’s degree compared to a high school diploma; a degree will give young adults the opportunity to have a stable financial background (15). Since all occupations
While in school, Mom didn’t have it to easy. Not only did she raise a daughter and take care of a husband, she had to deal with numerous setbacks. These included such things as my father suffering a heart attack and going on to have a triple by-pass, she herself went through an emergency surgery, which sat her a semester behind, and her father also suffered a heart attack. Mom not only dealt with these setbacks but she had the everyday task of things like cooking dinner, cleaning the house and raising a family. I don’t know how she managed it all, but somehow she did.